Apple's had its fair share of underperforming products and ones that were simply too ahead of the times (the Newton, anyone?), and there were definitely products that just simply didn't stand a chance. We can confidently list at least four products that brought Apple a little bit of shame to its good name. Read on to find out which ones they are.
At $599, this Newton-era console was no competition for the PlayStation, and only 42,000 were sold. But thanks to the iOS gaming juggernaut, today it’s Apple who’s laughing all the way to the bank.
In 2006, no one expected Apple to enter the iPod speaker business, and in 2007 they were right back out. This beautiful boom box delivered good sound, but its size and $349 price steered music fans toward other offerings in the crowded market Cupertino helped create.
It’s hard to imagine Apple ever needed help selling iPods, and stranger still that in 2004 they turned to PC-maker Hewlett-Packard to do it. The result was an HP-branded iPod that was canceled less than a year later when HP backed out of the deal.
This futuristic Mac, sold to commemorate Apple’s 20th anniversary, sported a $7,499 price tag, leather palm rests on the keyboard, and underpowered components, even for 1997. A year later, the price plunged to $1,995 before the party was finally over.
ken147
February 16, 2012 at 3:59pm
apple didn't make the pippin. they licensed the technology to a company called Bandai.
scottrey
February 17, 2012 at 11:07am
they may have not actually produced it but they fully designed it. Bandai simply was licensed to manufacture the unit, they did not develop it.
